Pickleball

Pickleball is a game that is touted as fun for all ages, but the first time I heard about it there was a 91 year old man playing it on TV. I figure that gives my rather unathletic self about 30 years to learn the sport. The sport of pickleball has been around since the 1960s and is a combination of badminton, tennis, and ping pong. It looks like I should thank the baby boomers ahead of me pickleball’s even more recent rise in popularity. In some areas in Florida people are lining up to take turns on the pickleball court. The two or four player game is played outdoors or indoors on a court with a badminton type layout. The rackets are solid paddles a bit bigger than ping pong paddles and smaller than tennis rackets. The ball is a whiffle ball, plastic with holes in it. The net is hung like a tennis net about 3 feet high and the rules are similar to the rules of tennis. The ball is served underhand to your opponent across and over the net diagonally. You can only score when you serve and the opponent fails to return the ball as you volley. First to score 11 points wins.

Maybe pickleball would be a bit easier for me to play with my grandkids (Brody and Jude, especially) and I’m thinking it might be fun to give it a try.